


Sleep

by yvnwhore



Series: Agere fics [9]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Anxiety, Caregiver!Hongjoong, Fluff and Angst, Nightmares, little!seonghwa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:54:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26393728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yvnwhore/pseuds/yvnwhore
Summary: Seonghwa didn't typically regress very young, but sometimes he couldn't help becoming nonverbal out of stress.
Relationships: Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Series: Agere fics [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1630093
Comments: 7
Kudos: 134





	Sleep

Seonghwa awoke with a gasp, his heart pounding and his head feeling jumbled and full of cotton. The room was dark, sparking a sense of dread into him as he shook from the terrifying anxiety dream he'd just had. It disturbed him so much that he slipped before he'd even woken up.

He pouted to himself as tears blurred his vision completely, remembering the vivid dream. Hongjoong wasn't even home yet, still at the studio late again, so he couldn't wake him up to get help. He didn't want to get out of bed, too scared to move. All he wanted to do was hug his toothless stuffie close to his chest and hide under the covers, which was exactly what he did.

He cried and closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down, but it only made things much worse. Each time he closed his eyes, he could see his previous nightmare.

"Is okay, s'okay..." He slurred out, trying to convince himself quietly. The words turned into babbling and incoherent noises as he tried to calm down, rocking back and forth in his bed. He was so scared of going back to sleep and seeing it again. It felt so real and so scary. Eventually his mind went blank and filled with nothing but his own fear. He had no coherent thoughts and couldn't help but weep. His panicked babbles and cries were so loud they masked the sounds of Hongjoong walking in.

Hongjoong heard the soft babbling and cries, becoming concerned. Had his little Hwa regressed alone? In the dark? But Hwa was afraid of the dark, he wouldn't slip just like that! Hongjoong made a quiet shushing noise as he entered the room, trying not to startle Seonghwa.

"Hwa?" He asked quietly, turning on his phone flashlight to illuminate the room. Seonghwa gasped and moved the covers. "Hey, hey there, baby boy, what's going on?" Hongjoong said, approaching Seonghwa's bed. Seonghwa sniffed and looked at Hongjoong with sad eyes. "Did my precious Hwa have another bad dream?" Hongjoong asked. Seonghwa nodded.

The dreams had been going on for a while. Their comeback was stressing Seonghwa out. He was constantly practicing his parts and working out to look as good on stage as possible. This caused the boy much fatigue and with that followed anxiety. The anxiety manifested through panic attacks and distressing dreams, causing Seonghwa to lose sleep. Hongjoong knew the dreams were bad, but he didn't know they were bad enough to knock Seonghwa so far into headspace.

Usually Seonghwa only slipped voluntarily to cope with stress. The only times he would involuntarily regress was when he was under extreme stress or hadn't allowed himself into headspace for a while.

"How big do you feel, butterfly?" Hongjoong questioned. Seonghwa sniffled softly and held up one finger, but then put it down after shaking his head. He showed Hongjoong a zero. _It really was that terrifying, wasn't it?_ Hongjoong thought. He felt a bit bad for not being able to be there for his little one immediately. "Do you wanna sleep with papa tonight, pumpkin?" Seonghwa nodded eagerly. "Alright, sweetheart, come here."

Hongjoong helped Seonghwa into his bed, tucking the regressor in and giving him his pacifier before changing into his pajamas. He plugged in a little nightlight he'd bought when Seonghwa was little and headed off back to the bed, snuggling in with Seonghwa. Seonghwa whined a bit after a while, beginning to babble again.

"What's wrong, sweety?" Hongjoong tsked. Seonghwa huffed and let out a small cry. He shook his head and tried to communicate silently to Hongjoong that he was scared. He shook his head and pointed to the pillow.

"Uncomfy?" Hongjoong asked. Seonghwa shook his head again and sniffled.

"S-sa- mmm..." He babbled, becoming frustrated as his words became incoherent. He huffed and sat up, beginning to cry again. Hongjoong cooed and brushed Seonghwa's hair with his hand.

"It's okay, it's okay, little one, papa understands. You're scared aren't you?" Hongjoong asked, opening his arms for Seonghwa. Seonghwa nodded and leaned into his arms, holding him tightly. "It's alright, butterfly. I know it's scary. Let's try not to think about it okay?" Seonghwa nodded again. "Do you want your bottle?" Hongjoong asked. Seonghwa softly nodded. Hongjoong stood up, but Seonghwa grabbed his sleeve.

"Papa." Was all he could say, and it came out as more of a whine.

"You wanna come with me, bubba?" Seonghwa nodded and sat up. Hongjoong picked the little up and carried him to the kitchen, sitting him down at the table. Hongjoong pulled out his phone and began playing Molang for Seonghwa to watch while he warmed up some milk. Seonghwa watched the show intently, his mind going blank as he slipped further.

The worries and tears from the thoughts of his nightmare had completely washed away as he watched his favourite show. He babbled happily to himself and the screen while he softly tapped his fingers on the table in front of him.

He'd gone through a few episodes when Hongjoong picked him up again. Seonghwa gasped in surprise and reached out for the phone to keep watching his show. Hongjoong chuckled softly and handed the phone to Seonghwa and Seonghwa leaned into Hongjoong's shoulder, no longer squirming. Hongjoong carried a baby bottle in one hand and Seonghwa in the other all the way back to their room. Seonghwa babbled and gurgle to both himself and Hongjoong the whole way there.

"Yeah, baby? You think so?" Hongjoong entertained him by replying to his meaningless gurgles. He laughed fondly when Seonghwa nodded against his shoulder. "Alright, little one, here you are." Hongjoong said as he sat Seonghwa down on his bed. Seonghwa layed down immediately and kept watching his show as Hongjoong pulled him close and took the phone from Seonghwa's hands so he could feed him. Seonghwa whined as Hongjoong took his pacifier out. "Oh, prince, here you go." Hongjoong fussed as he replaced the pacifier with the tip of the baby bottle.

Seonghwa hummed softly as Hongjoong resumed the show, holding it up for his baby as he fed him. The little one wrapped his arms around Hongjoong and watched with sleepy eyes. Hongjoong watched as Seonghwa's eyes struggled to stay open. He pulled the bottle away and replaced it with the pacifier. As Hongjoong began to brush Seonghwa's hair, he lost the fight against his eyelids and they fluttered shut.

Hongjoong didn't turn off his phone out of fear of the little one noticing and startling awake. He kept playing the show until he was sure Seonghwa had properly fallen back to sleep. When the regressor's breathing began to signify a heavy sleep, Hongjoong turned off the phone and put it away.

"My sweet baby." Hongjoong sighed quietly, placing a kiss on the top of Seonghwa's head. "Sleep well, darling." He whispered, cuddling into Seonghwa's embrace.


End file.
